1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to articles for dispensing a soluble or dispersible material into a fluid. More specifically, the invention relates to articles for dispensing materials, such as, for example, flavoring materials, coloring materials, medications, minerals or caffeine into a beverage such as, for example, water, soda or tea, as the beverage flows from a container. Inventive articles comprise porous plastic which defines a network of internal passages in fluid communication with pores on exposed surfaces of the article, the passages advantageously containing a dispensate and introducing the dispensate into a fluid stream that passes in contact with the article.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Efforts have been made in the prior art to devise ways of flavoring liquids without physically mixing flavoring material into the liquid prior to the time of consumption. This has been attempted in the prior art by impregnating the material of an ordinary drinking straw, such as heavy paper, with a flavoring material. Among other limitations of such an approach is the fact that the amount of flavoring available in such a manner is very limited and after a small quantity of liquid has been drawn through the straw it must be discarded in favor of a new one.
There has also been disclosed a flavoring device in which a flavor-containing mechanism is attached to a straw such that flavoring material held therein is in fluid communication with the straw's fluid passageway. As such, U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,361 to Cook et al. discloses a flavoring device comprising a conduit having an inlet and an outlet and having attached to the conduit, intermediate the inlet and the outlet, a chamber for receiving flavoring material. Means communicating between the flavoring chamber and conduit are disclosed whereby liquid drawn into the inlet and through the conduit is contacted with the flavoring material prior to exit from the conduit at the outlet.
The above methods, however, have not gained widespread acceptance or use. Therefore, at present, beverages are typically flavored by physically mixing flavoring materials into a liquid prior to the time the liquid is consumed, to provide a flavored beverage. Thus, the consumer is generally faced with the following two options: (1) purchasing a powdered additive and mixing the same with, for example, tap water to make a beverage having the desired additives therein, or (2) simply purchasing a pre-made (and typically pre-bottled) beverage. There are, however, several disadvantages associated with these options, which disadvantages are overcome by the present invention.
With respect to powdered additives, reference will be had for the sake of example to powdered lemonade, powdered fruit drinks, such as, for example, KOOL-AID.RTM. powders, powdered GATORADE.RTM. and powdered medications, such as THERA-FLU.RTM.. These products are widely available in, for example, grocery stores and the like, and may be mixed by the consumer in varying amounts with tap water or other liquids to make varying quantities of flavored beverages or doses of medicine having varying concentrations. One disadvantage of such a product is that, in a situation where only a single serving (i.e., about 5 to about 20 fluid ounces) is desired at any given time, the overall requirement of time and effort required to prepare beverages is large. Alternatively, a large quantity of flavored beverage may be made in a single batch; however, in such a situation it is difficult to predict the exact quantity that will be needed, and it is not uncommon for a large amount of such a beverage to be wasted.
With regard to pre-made flavored beverages, it is well known that there are presently available in the marketplace a wide variety of bottled beverages which essentially comprise flavorings and/or other substances that are dissolved into water and then bottled for sale in various quantities, typically single-serving quantities such as, for example, 12-20 fluid ounces or 1-2 liters. Examples include lemonades; sweetened and unsweetened tea products; caffeinated and uncaffeinated tea products; flavored tea products; a wide variety of sodas, including regular sodas, diet sodas, caffeine-free sodas, caffeine-rich sodas; mineral waters; and the like. Also available are fountain drinks of all kinds which may be purchased, for example, at convenience stores, grocery stores or gas stations.
One disadvantage associated with the purchase of a pre-made beverage is that a single beverage commonly costs about a dollar, irrespective of the quantity purchased. A lower price may be available if the beverages are purchased in bulk, such as, for example, a 12-pack or a 24-pack; however, this requires transportation and storage of a large, heavy and bulky package. Another disadvantage of purchasing pre-made and/or pre-bottled beverages is that a separate container must be made, used and disposed of for each unit consumed. This not only increases the amount of litter which must be collected at great cost, but also increases the cost of producing and shipping single-unit beverages and uses up large amounts of raw materials, which are needed to make such a large number of beverage containers. While many beverage containers may be recycled, this too involves large cost and effort, and a large proportion of single-unit beverage containers are disposed of rather than recycled.
In light of the above, there has been a long-felt need for an improved manner of providing beverages having water-soluble and/or water-dispersible additives therein. The present invention overcomes these problems by providing methods, compositions and articles for introducing dispensate materials into a beverage, as the beverage flows from a container, to thereby advantageously produce a treated beverage. A dispensate may be introduced into a fluid stream in accordance with the invention by simply providing tap water or other beverage in a beverage container (preferably a reusable beverage container), and passing or placing the water or other beverage in contact with an inventive dispensing article such that the dispensate is introduced into the liquid. Inventive articles may be advantageously used, for example, to dispense one or more minerals into tap water to provide mineral water, to dispense flavoring materials, caffeine or coloring additives into tap water or into a pre-made beverage, and to dispense one or more medicines into tap water to provide a predetermined single-unit dose of medicine.